The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Amy Kelley

Safeguarding Your Child’s Health at School

by

As summer comes to a close, local parents can be found buying notebooks, pencils and clothes and getting ready for the changes in routines and activities that a new school year brings. But what about safeguarding the health of children returning to school?

Along with new challenges and commitments can come new exposure to all kinds of viruses, not to mention that plague of camps and classrooms alike: lice. According to Dr. Ellen Lestz, a pediatrician with White Plains Hospital Physicians Associates in Armonk, weather changes such as those experienced in our area in the fall cause viruses to be more prevalent, and “your standard communicable things” are the most common at back-to-school time: Viruses that cause maladies such as colds, coughs and gastrointestinal problems.

Handwashing Is Key

Dr. Lestz said handwashing is the “most important” defense. Noting that many classrooms have hand sanitizer available, she stressed that children should clean their hands before lunch or a snack. “It’s good when teachers reinforce this at the beginning of the year,” she said, “and when they teach children how to cough and sneeze appropriately.”

Kids and adults alike should sneeze or cough into their elbows, not their hands, and if a hand is accidentally used to stifle a cough or a sneeze, handwashing should follow right away.

Lestz also pointed out that students need a nutritious diet and enough sleep to remain healthy, and she recommended that parents work on changing sleep schedules about a week in advance of the school year, back to school-year timeframes.

“I think that will kind of prime their immune systems,” she said.

Keeping Lice at Bay

As far as lice goes, Lestz said that while probably more common at camp, it can be a problem at school as well. Besides the usual admonitions not to share hats or combs and to keep long hair back, Lestz said there’s not a lot of evidence that over-the-counter products advertised to repel lice actually work.

But when a kid does have lice, Lestz said it can be a good idea to call on a lice professional. Besides great combouts, these lice-eradication experts are good at communicating to parents and children the steps they need to take in order to prevent recurrence. “They’re so, so thorough,” Lestz said.

The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) also recommends that parents review proper hygiene to prevent the spread of infections before school starts, and parents should know their school’s policy regarding when to keep sick kids home.

Parents should also have child care plans for sick children if needed, and in addition to required up-to-date vaccines, the NASN Back-to-School family checklist also recommends flu vaccinations. Of course, parents should communicate any health concerns or issues their children have with school nurses.

Other ways of preparing for optimal mental and emotional health may include getting youngsters back in touch with school friends after a summer apart. Lestz suggested arranging a few playdates. And to avoid anxiety, make sure all summer assignments are completed, if possible, with time to spare. “If your child’s nervous, understand their feelings and have open communication with them,” Lestz added.

Caramoor’s Summer Schedule Spans Musical Genres & Delights Audiences

by

PHOTO BY GABE PALACIO

While Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in nearby Katonah needn’t be compared to anywhere else, some visitors do see favorable similarities between Caramoor and a certain other renowned site for music in the Berkshires. Does Tanglewood come to mind?

But music aficionados need not battle traffic to the Berkshires. Caramoor, located on an historic estate owned by Walter and Lucie Rosen, is one of northern Westchester’s great cultural treasures.

A look at the summer calendar–available at www.caramoor.org–reveals a tremendously wide selection of musical events.  From Mozart’s The Secret Gardener, which will be performed in Caramoor’s Sunken Garden, to American Songbook, classical and world music and even sound art installations, there’s a summer full of music planned from many eras and genres.

Music In Chappaqua
ADVERTISEMENT

Family-Friendly Fun

Caramoor’s schedule includes, as always, many events for families that are truly kid-friendly and a perfect introduction to music for little ones. One perennial favorite is Dancing At Dusk. “It’s a really lovely family program,” Barbara Prisament, who handles outreach for Caramoor, said of the program, now in its 10th year. “It’s from late afternoon to early evening and it’s very reasonably priced.” This summer, favorites from other years will be featured. Dancing At Dusk will be held on Wednesdays, June 27, July 18 and July 25 at 5 p.m., and includes music and dancing; tickets are $14 for adults and $7 for children 12 and under.

The Knights, an orchestral collective from Brooklyn, will perform a family concert at 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 17. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children. “That’s going to be great,” Prisament said. The group includes a “steel pan virtuoso.”

On July 1, Caramoor will host a free slate of activities, including, at 4 p.m., a performance of an outdoor percussion work called Inuksuit by prize-winning composer John Luther Adams. The work will include more than 60 percussionists, and promises to be interesting to all ages.

“It’s meant to be performed outside–it has been performed on a mountaintop, and on the border between the US and Mexico,” Prisament explained recently. “You can come and walk through the grounds and hear the sounds of the percussionists mixed with the sounds of nature.” Children can also take advantage of a special percussion activity at 2 p.m. that day.

The event is free with reservations.

July 14 brings another family concert, at 11 a.m.: Bridge to Broadway, a journey from the music of Mozart through today’s Broadway musicals that will include the work of Schubert and Cole Porter, Verdi and Irving Berlin. Tickets are $14 for adults and $7 for children.

New Programming Director This Season

Adams is only one of 22 living composers whose work will be performed at Caramoor this summer under the new head of programming, Kathy Schuman, who is vice president, artistic programming and executive producer.

Schuman has said she intends to take advantage of the beautiful grounds at the 90-acre estate by featuring more “site-specific outdoor work” as well as more early music, world music and new music–as well as continuing to offer opera, jazz (in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center) and also sound art. “It’s her first season and we’re really excited about that,” Prisament said.

The new is well-balanced with the classics, though, and visitors can come for a performance of Handel’s Atalanta by the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra or hear Tchaikovsky performed by the Orchestra of Saint Luke’s.

This season also features an American Roots Music Festival on June 23 and a Jazz Festival on July 21, both of which feature multiple performances. “It’s such a pleasant place to be with ample free parking, and you can bring food for a picnic or order ahead from our caterer,” Prisament said. “It’s a lovely way to spend a summer day or evening.”

What’s New This Season at Local Farmers Markets

by

A cocoa/cauliflower brownie from the SweetHearth Bake Shop, a new gluten-free vendor at the Chappaqua Farmers Market

Now that the weather is finally more like a velvet glove than an iron fist, many residents of the Castles and beyond truly look forward to enjoying nature’s benevolence at one of our area’s farmers markets.

At press time, local market directors spoke to us about a variety of new offerings planned to expand and improve upon what’s available this year.

Chappaqua Farmers Market, Saturdays 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the train station. Pascale Le Draoule, market director, said there will be even more of a focus on certified organic growers this year. “We actually had five produce vendors and one of our conventional produce vendors was not doing very well and decided to leave. We saw that as a very strong message,” La Draoule said. New vendors include Sun Sprout Farm, a certified organic grower from New York’s black dirt country and Caradonna Farms, an orchard with “a dizzying array of fruits.”

Shoppers can also look forward to Dacha Fermented Veggies and SweetHearth Bake Shop, “a new gluten-free baker who does very interesting things, using cauliflower and local fruits and vegetables. She’s very creative and everything she makes is beautiful.” The Carbon Chocolate Workshop will also be new to the market, offering organic chocolate, and Temima’s Bakery from Pound Ridge also. “There will be a lot more gluten-free at the market this year, a lot more fruit, more certified organic,” Rosseau said. “We always have cool activities for kids.” Also expect cooking demos on-site.

Children watch an entertainer perform at the Pleasantville Farmers Market
PHOTO BY CHAD DAVID KRAUS PHOTOGRAPHY

Ossining Farmers Market, Saturdays 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., the parking lot at Spring and Main. Community members will have more prepared food options this year at Ossining’s market, Dacotah Rosseau, marketing and communications manager, said, and more space to enjoy them too in an expanded, umbrella-shaded seating area. “People can buy a meal to take home or eat right here,” Rosseau said.

Sunset View Farm, a nose-to-tail operation, will offer grilled meats and rotisserie chickens.  “We’ve got a really neat bakery out of New York City,” Rosseau added. Called Kouklet, the microbakery will offer sweet and savory Brazilian pastries. There will also be a new olive oil company, BulI, that sells estate-grown unfiltered extra virgin olive oil from Italy. The market also usually features music and occasionally hosts kids’ activities.

Produce sold at Muscoot Farms Sunday market

Pleasantville Farmers Market, Saturdays 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Memorial Plaza next to the train station (closed for Pleasantville Day, Saturday, May 19). New this year in early June is Morgiewicz Produce, a fourth-generation family farm from Goshen that will offer Asian greens, calaloo, kohlrabi, lettuces and more. There are more than 65 events planned, from music to magic to talks and a book signing. Stuart Vance, vice-chair of Foodchester, which runs the market, said: “Shoppers appreciate the market’s entertaining, positive vibe.”

If Saturday slips away without an uplifting morning trip to the market, the Muscoot Farmers Market at 51 Route 100 in Katonah, located on the Albert B. Delbello Muscoot Farm, is open on Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. starting May 14. Any kids in tow will love the chance to see the historic farm’s many animals, and currently 30 vendors are showcased on the market’s website.

Shoppers at the Ossining Famers Market

Learning from Experience: Local Young Entrepreneurs Rack Up Life Lessons

by

Camp counselors, lifeguards, the desk at the pool: teens join the workforce in droves when school’s out, often taking these classic summer jobs. But some entrepreneurial local teens–and even younger kids–will spend this summer working for themselves, at new businesses or endeavors they started. They’ll make money but they’ll also be paid in life lessons other young people may not necessarily learn until after college.

Matching Jobs with Teens

Mac Yavner and Spencer McGowan, both 16 and juniors at Horace Greeley High School, are the third owners of Teen Agency (teenagency.org) which matches teens with community members who seek to employ them. “We hope to develop (the agency) and we hope to sell it when we graduate from Greeley,” McGowan said. “We started with parents asking us for babysitters and tutors but one of our goals was to get different kinds of jobs.”

After working on getting more visibility for the agency, different requests did come in. A homeowner wanted logs moved so Yavner and McGowan enlisted friends who play football to put some muscle into it. Then an elderly couple asked for someone to change the batteries in their smoke detectors, and word spread in their development about that service. “Word gets around,” Yavner said. “Before Thanksgiving, one person asked for help moving furniture, then a lot of people asked for the same thing.”

Yavner and McGowan are in business for the experience; they will madonate their profits to a food allergy charity that helps people who can’t afford epipens and don’t have insurance.

But they both say they’re really profiting by what they’ve learned. “What you put in is what you get out,” Yavner said. “If you try to make money and be successful it’s definitely within reach,” McGowan added.

Jewelry Making Biz: Bijoux by Chloe

Byram Hills High School Senior Chloe Perline has been running her jewelry-making business, Bijoux by Chloe, for about three years, and she plans to continue her efforts while at Syracuse University next fall. “I started making little bracelets a few years ago and my friends really liked them,” she said. That led to the creation of a website, bijouxbychloe.com, and Perline said her business is going very well, and she’s learned about a lot more than jewelry making. “There’s a lot to it,” she said. “Figuring out pricing and marketing–it’s a lot of work but it’s really fun too.”

‘Rent a Teenager’

Mason Greenstein,14, and a freshman at Horace Greeley, is a student with a competing business called Rentateenager.com that provides responsible teenagers to perform various jobs.  “We offer a less expensive option than professional expert services. Some of the services we offer include sports coaching, tutoring, baby sitting, dog walking, yard work, after school drivers, photographers and anything else that a teenager can help with,” explained Greenstein.

Greenstein feels that the business has taught him to hone in on his organizational skills. “I have a lot of teenagers offering their services. I also have a lot of people who want teenagers for various jobs. Everything needs to be organized so I can promptly provide the right teenager for specific requests.”

The Paint Can Kid

In Chappaqua, 11-year-old Michael Weyne has joined the ranks of the hamlet’s younger entrepreneurs as The Paint Can Kid (the name, by the way, is trademarked.) Weyne will come with his dad, Jonathan Weyne, to pick up old paint cans for a mere $2 per can–and for a lot of cans there’s a volume discount. Handling old paint cans wasn’t Weyne’s first business idea –he had another plan but realized he needed startup money.

“He asked me how to get capital,” Jonathan Weyne said. “I said you could have it, borrow it, or earn it–so I challenged him to start a summer business and earn $10,000.” Weyne overheard his dad and a neighbor discuss getting rid of paint cans, and another business idea was born. He researched his idea extensively and launched The Paint Can Kid last summer, when he was 10, and gave out more than 25 flyers to people listening to music on a summer evening at the bandstand.

Weyne wound up with so many prospective customers, he was booked 4-6 weeks out. He takes the cans and sorts out the cans that have a lot of good paint left. Those, he found, Habitat for Humanity will take, so he’s currently setting that up. As for the rest, Weyne empties the paint into a large bin because he and his dad, a physician who runs clinical trials for biopharmaceutical company Regeneron, are inventing a machine that will separate out much of the water so the remaining paint can be recycled and used. They crush the cans and recycled 133 pounds of steel this past Earth Day.

Will he make it to $10,000 this year? Weyne estimates his chances at 70/30. After all, he’s making money but he’s also spending it–and learning all about business expenses like gas and mileage.

Michael “filed his first income tax return this year,” Jonathan Weyne said, adding that the business is an LLC. While Jonathan Weyne acknowledged that it has been time-consuming helping Michael with his business, he said he truly enjoys this time with Michael (and with Michael’s younger siblings, Alex and Nicole, who are occasionally enlisted as unpaid interns). The Paint Can Kid can be reached at 914-200-3344.

Tutoring Business: A Family Affair

Jake Horwitz, who is currently running Turning Point Tutoring from Scotland as he studies abroad, took over the business from his brother Robbie, who started it as a junior at Greeley. Horwitz said it’s doing well and he currently employs 12 tutors. He credits his success to “great students at Horace Greeley” who serve as tutors, and calls customer service “essential.”

“The most important part of a small business is the people,” Horwitz, 20, a junior at the University of Pennsylvania, added.

From Sneakers to Snapshots

Greg Skriloff, a junior at Byram Hills High School in Armonk, offers web design and development as well as photography –his website is greg.skriloff.com. But his start in business was buying and reselling limited edition sneakers, a lucrative effort he continues to this day. “That’s when I’d date back my entrepreneurship in general to when I was 11 or 12 years old. I’d set up a whole process, get a few pairs from each release and re-sell them.” Skriloff  “It really teaches you how to separate yourself and manage your time,” Skriloff said. “For example, a kid in high school would ordinarily be going out on a Friday night. But a business changes your priorities.”

Get Ready, Get Set, Graduate! Byram Hills Graduation Prep by the Numbers

by

In one sense, it’s been a lifetime coming. The young students at Byram Hills High School in Armonk have been preparing for their high school graduation not just for four years but far longer than that, growing and changing and expanding intellectually. Now, though, parents, loved ones, faculty, staff and other officials will gather to recognize their hard work as they leave behind what the Byram Hills school system had to offer and embark on their adult lives. Inside Armonk spoke to officials to get a better sense of what goes into preparing for the big day.

19 of June is when the seniors at Byram Hills High School will graduate, indoors at SUNY Purchase, a location Byram Hills Principal Chris Walsh said is “beautiful even in the worst weather.”

205 newly-minted high school graduates will take on the world. Declining enrollment is causing the population at many local high schools including Byram Hills to get slightly smaller.

1372 is the number of seats available in the hall at SUNY Purchase. The graduates, of course, will be seated on the stage. Custodians will work hard the day before and the day of the graduation in order to transport and set up risers, banners, diploma covers, and much more, according to Deepak Marwah, fine arts director at the school. Marwah helps manage logistics for the graduation. “There are a lot of moving parts,” he said.

5 is a big number for this long-awaited event; 5 speakers will address the crowd at the Byram Hills High School graduation: a valedictorian, a salutatorian, Walsh, Superintendent Jen Lamia and the president of the board of education,Robin Glat. The valedictorian and salutatorian will be determined late May, when final grades are released. “That gives them time to work on their addresses,” Walsh said. The ceremony is at 5 p.m.–and each family automatically gets 5 tickets to the event.

1 or 2 extra tickets may be had, though, depending on availability and how many requests for extra tickets come in, Walsh said. Many families have grandparents and other loved ones in town to celebrate.

97 percent and more of Byram Hills students will continue on to college – Walsh expects this year’s numbers to be close to 98 percent, but an exact number wasn’t available at press time.

4 years of fundraising by these seniors, who’ve helped with prom and graduation expenses and more, and now it’s time to present a class gift with the money they have remaining. “Last year it was a sign for our new Coffee Cafe,” Walsh said. “The year before, the class donated informational monitors for the hallway.” What’s coming from the Class of 2018? It’ll be a surprise, announced during the ceremony.

0 Regents diplomas will be awarded by Byram Hills. “We do what’s called a local diploma,” Walsh explained. “We feel like what we do is more advanced and more rigorous than a Regents diploma, but all of our students take all the Regents classes and go beyond that.”

23 AP classes are available at the alma mater of this year’s graduates, and other high-level learning opportunities such as a science research program, and in addition, a class called Perspectives in Literature, which is a two-period class that’s considered honors level.

11 months in advance, district residents are alerted of the next spring’s graduation dates when the district calendar is finalized and mailed.

45 sports teams of various levels and seasons are available at Byram Hills High School.

90 minutes or a bit more is the projected length of the graduation ceremony, with a lot packed in: besides the speeches and awarding of diplomas, there will be several pieces of music performed by the band and chorus, and the class gift presentation.

“We really take it seriously and we really think it’s important to present an event that represents all the hard work the students have put in over four years,” Walsh said.